Norfolk Group Is Flexible On Arena Naming Rights

January 07, 2002|By DAVE FAIRBANK Daily Press

If the local group pursuing the NBA's Charlotte Hornets cannot convince one corporation to pony up $60 million or more toward a naming rights deal for a new arena, smaller commitments from more companies may still achieve the same result.

The Norfolk pursuit group has yet to land a naming rights deal, a cornerstone in its pursuit of the Hornets and a requirement for building a new arena. Sales pitches to corporations in the past month have always included options for lesser commitments.

"With companies, you don't want to give them just one option -- naming rights or nothing," said Kevin Lovitt, an International Management Group senior vice president assisting the Hampton Roads Partnership in its corporate sponsorship pursuit.

"In an ideal world, we'd already have the naming rights deal locked up and other companies would fall in line as part of the partnership. But we don't have that right now, so we want to keep our options open and give companies the option to come on board at various levels."

Among those options are what's called "associate" naming rights agreements, in which corporations receive tickets and signage in new stadiums or arenas, commensurate with their commitment.

For example, the Cleveland Browns' new stadium has four local companies as the most visible corporate presences, though none committed enough money to get its name on the stadium. The Georgia Dome in Atlanta also seeks a similar multiple corporate presence, Lovitt said, because of concerns by both companies and local officials about changing the venue's name.

"One of the reasons I think that's a credible strategy in Norfolk," Lovitt said, "is that we've had contact with a number of companies that want to be involved, but don't necessarily want to sign on for naming rights."

Typically, naming rights deals are worth $3 million to $5 million per year. Lovitt said agreements with multiple companies can still generate that amount of money.

"Those deals may be a little more difficult because you aren't dealing with just one company, you may be dealing with five or six," he said.

Former state secretary of commerce and trade Barry DuVal, who is serving as point man in the naming rights pursuit, said his primary focus remains landing a big deal. He thinks one of the potential naming rights candidates will decide whether or not to sign on within the next two weeks.

Gov.-elect Mark Warner recently met with DuVal and voiced his support of Norfolk's pursuit of the Hornets, even going so far as to call one of the corporate candidates.

Warner also has expressed support for state legislation needed to return money generated by the team and the arena to the city of Norfolk to help pay off the debt for the arena, another key component of the plan.

"You have to have all the pieces of the puzzle before the picture becomes clear," DuVal said. "We don't have all the pieces yet."

The NBA's application deadline for moving to a new city for next season is March 1, though the Grizzlies' ownership last year received an extension until late March before the team eventually moved from Vancouver to Memphis.

"It's hard to say when we can get it done," Lovitt said. "You can't rush companies into this. They don't say, 'Pencil me in and tell me where to send the check.' We're going to work as quickly as we can on this. Will it happen tomorrow? Probably not. In a week? Hard to say. But everyone's aware of the time constraints we're under."

Dave Fairbank can be reached at 247-4637 or by e-mail at dfairbank@dailypress.com